Ficcles & Drabblets
by X-parrot
Summary: Anything-goes shortfic 300 words or less for various series: GetBackers, One Piece
1. GB: Supply & Demand :100:

_A collection of various and sundry drabbles and other ficlets. The number in the chapter title is the word count. _

Chapters 1-3: GetBackers  
Chapters 4-: One Piece 

The following three GetBackers bits were written some months ago and posted on lj. Light yaoi. 

Supply & Demand

In Mugenjou, Raitei's smiles were uncommon gifts, precious, valued more than gold and chocolate by those few who earned them. Shido and Kazuki, Makubex and Teshimine, rarely others, all who knew to treasure them. 

But the Get Backer Amano Ginji smiles all the time, and most often with the bastard snake, who only smirks back, as if it's such a simple thing. Even Kazuki is jealous, subdued and privately, that he gets so much for so little. 

What they don't understand is how they're just as prized now, even the smallest grin caught by serpent blue eyes and always remembered. 


	2. GB: Privacy :300:

Privacy

In the Infinite Castle, pleasure is something you take where you find it, quick and brutal as any battle. And love you don't even consider. He was so happy, the first time he saw Juubei with Kazuki, not just standing behind him but at his side, his arm around Kazu-chan's slender waist and their lips closed together. It was amazing to him, that they could find such a simple, absolute joy. Beauty is something any denizen of Mugenjou appreciates, if they have not yet lost all their soul. 

The real world is different. He had to have it explained to him, the first time he tried to take Ban-chan's hand in public. The mall was bright and loud, and just a few days out of Mugenjou, he could only see danger in the clamoring crowds, but when he reached for reassurance Ban-chan just hissed, "Don't," blue eyes slanted toward him, irritably narrowed. "Not here!" 

That night, alone, Ban-chan told him in greater detail what could be done, and couldn't, when there were others to see it. Too many rules to remember all of them, and some he deliberately forgot. Over time he's learned how much of a difference it makes, who the others are, and where they are, and what's been happening. It has yet to completely make sense to him, but he trusts Ban-chan's judgment. Even Kazuki and Juubei are cautious, outside. Some things are still okay, if done properly, as a joke, just horsing around, so people don't get the wrong idea, or the right one. 

And once in a while even Ban-chan forgets, so when they're walking down a busy street, occasionally Ban-chan's hand will brush his, clasp his fingers in a moment of beauty too casually quick for anyone blinded by rules and safety to notice. 


	3. GB: Wrapped :134:

Wrapped

Ginji must be the only person on the whole damn planet who doesn't know. Paul knows. Paul finds it funny as hell, though he never does more than arch a wry eyebrow in Ban's direction. Natsumi giggles behind her hand, cutely, and blushes when Ban glares at her. Hevn does, too, except she doesn't blush. 

Shido and Kadsuki aren't blind, but it's not like they can make anything of it. The monkey trainer is completely trained himself, and the thread spool is knotted in a red thread so tight he couldn't break loose if he wanted. 

Even Akabane knows. Sometimes Ban finds that amusing. Late at night it scares the hell out of him. 

"Ban-chan, please?" Ginji asks, and Ban agrees. 

Because this is Ginji, so it's not like he could ever do otherwise. 


	4. OP: Warai :100:

_One Piece ficlets. Some were written for the onepieceyaoi100 community on livejournal, and therefore may have yaoi elements._

Warai 

As a child, Zoro saw little point to laughter. Nothing funny about swords, and that was all that mattered. As he got older he found reasons. A pirate's empty threats, meaningless to him. 'I'll kill you.' The best joke. He enjoyed how their faces changed at his sharp chuckle as he pulled his swords, when they realized that however many of them there were, he wasn't afraid. He always cut it short before the blood fell. 

He's never laughed without meaning it. But it's only since he met this pirate king that when he starts, he isn't able to stop. 


	5. OP: One of Them :243:

_onepieceyaoi100 topic: pain_

One of Them 

Tell yourself it doesn't hurt, looking at him. 

He's younger, he's smaller, he looks like a goddamn kid, with those eyes so big and dark and wide, and the hair always mussed under the hat. 

He's not innocent, you know. You've seen him fight, his blood is red, and you know he could kill if he had to, and would without blinking. Nothing shocks him, not the worst pirate, not the most brutal monster. This wouldn't either. Cover his mouth with yours, press him down and feel him move against you, trap those long limbs under yours and slide yourself against that slender body. Hard and soft, muscle and flesh and bone, not quite like any you've touched before. You know how it feels; you've dragged him from the depths before, and he's thrown an arm around you, leaned against you, casually. He's like that. 

He's stronger than you, but you could. He'd let you, if you wanted. 

If he knew you wanted. 

But then, if it were any of you, he would open those arms as fast. Even now he's grinning with the others, laughing that idiot's laugh. He catches your eye, grinning, and you smile back, because there's no choice, not when he's beaming like that. 

Tell yourself it doesn't hurt, to not be the only one to win that smile, to be not _him_ but _one of them_, and nothing more. 

Keep smiling, and you'll even start to believe it. 


	6. OP: Patience :240:

_onepieceyaoi100 topic: pain   
Not actually how I see Sanji, but there is a certain sense to it._

Patience 

He doesn't want sex; he wants to make love. 

Thirteen is old enough that every detail should have been burned into his memory, but all he remembers clearly is the pain. They had been well-behaved, for pirates, hadn't even made faces at the waiters, and when the first mate's hand brushed his hair as he poured their wine, he had thought it was just an accident. Until he'd gone into the bathroom and the man had shoved him against the cold mirror, thick hand wrapped over his mouth so he couldn't breathe, and then all he recalls is how it had hurt, like nothing he'd felt before, not the slow ache of starvation but almost as bad. 

The next thing he knew was Zeff's voice, and the realization that he'd never truly seen Zeff angry before, and the splash as Patty threw the man off the Baratie. The pirate's crew dragged him out before the sharks came to the blood in the water; the ship never came back, so he never found out if the man ever...walked...again. 

That's all he remembers, but it's enough, that when he looks into a woman's eyes he can see the hurt there, and then it's just a matter of finding what it takes to make it go away. One day, he knows, he'll look and see more than the absence of pain, see what's in his own heart returned. Until he does, he'll wait. 


	7. OP: Duty :222:

Duty 

There's an old adage--or is it a warning?--save a man's life, and you become his protector; ever afterwards his life is your responsibility. 

Apparently one corollary to this is: fish a man out of the ocean, and ever afterwards it's your obligation to save him from drowning. 

Simply logic, really; he is the best swimmer of all of them, can dive the deepest and fastest. That's not pride or talent, just the natural legacy of growing up on ships, and all those years that he pushed himself, made sure no one would ever have to save _him_ from the deadly waves again. And his legs are damn strong. 

It isn't all the time. If Luffy just happens to fall off the ship--as he does, often enough--then it's whoever's closer, or whoever draws the short straw, depending on the direness of the situation. 

But when they've all gone overboard, when it's an escape or an attack or a storm, when there's no time to debate or decide, it's his job, and they all know it, don't question it, take care of themselves and other concerns and trust him to get Luffy out. 

He thinks sometimes that maybe he should mind it, but he doesn't. It's just one of the duties of a cook. At least on this pirate ship. 


	8. OP: 100 Percent Cotton :243:

_onepieceyaoi100 topic: laundry   
...laundry?_   
  
100% Cotton

"Oi, Usopp, you done with my shirt yet?"

"Yeah, here, Zoro."

They all have their chores, and Usopp's chemistry knowledge comes in handy for more than making shooting stars. He figured out how to get tabasco stains out of his overalls long ago, but that's nothing compared to the challenges the crew presents.

"Hey, Usopp, thanks!"

Not only do most of Nami's clothes require special treatment, but there's ink spots to deal with. Or grease stains on Sanji's suits--what kind of idiot cooks in silk? And no one could possibly imagine _what_ Luffy manages to get on his clothes. Much less _how_.

"By the way, Long-nose, good job with the laundry."

Zoro's shirts, however, take extra particular care, beyond the vinegar and ammonia concoction he's developed to get blood out. But he's got it down by now. Boiling water, then use the pedal-operated tumbler to whip it dry, though he has to be careful not to overdo it; Nami charges for mending tears.

"Thank you for doing the laundry, Usopp. It came out great."

As an artist, he understands the importance of aesthetics in maintaining good spirits. And as resident storyteller, he considers it his responsibility to keep up the ship's morale.

So if Zoro's going to cover himself with a shirt, the _least_ Usopp can do is make sure it's a size too small. Or two or three.

Now if only he could figure out what to do about the pants.


	9. OP: Until It Passes :300: On the Figureh...

_onepieceyaoi100: shelter   
A matched pair of stories following manga chapter 331, so vague spoilers which likely will be rendered invalid come the next chapter. Is Luffy angst a sign of the Apocalypse?_

Until It Passes 

For all that he worked most of his life in crowded kitchens, Sanji prefers to cook undisturbed. Not that the crew always respects this, but Zoro usually prefers napping in the sun. But though the sky is clear blue now, he isn't here just to grab a snack; instead he sits at the table. 

Turning the heat down to let the sauce simmer, Sanji looks back to find the swordsman has his white katana out and is polishing the already-shining blade, studiously, not looking up when Sanji coughs in barely mannered irritation. _Can't you do that outside?_, he might say, or _You better not get oil on the table we eat on_, or, subtlety not being Zoro's strength, _Get the hell out, stupid_. But when he opens his mouth he says, "Where's Nami-san?" 

Zoro, head still bent over the sword, replies, "In the main cabin, with Chopper." 

"Robin-chan's still not back." 

Luffy, he knows, is on the figurehead; maybe his final moments on that seat. And their last crewmate--he doesn't ask; Zoro doesn't know where he ran, either. 

Sanji lights a cigarette. His hands are steady but the glowing embers blur; he blinks and they burn clear again. 

Zoro draws his black katana, giving it the same careful attention. He won't be done anytime soon. The pan on the stove burbles and Sanji turns back. 

"Tonight," Zoro says, "we should go find Robin." 

_You can go look now_, he could reply. The swordsman doesn't have a meal to make. 

But Zoro gets lost so easily. Here in the kitchen, with the sword clinking noisily against the table and that sharp oil scent overpowering the sauce's flavors, at least Sanji knows where he is. 

"After dinner," he says, and doesn't repeat the 'we', because Zoro already knows they'll go together. 

* 

On the Figurehead

The sun is bright on the water, and he tips his hat down so the glitter doesn't blind. He's warm, sitting here, comfortable on the painted wood, and every scratch and gouge his fingers run over is familiar. 

It aches, so he can almost feel it himself, broken, every creak of the abused hull a faint whimper that he didn't hear before. 

If he listens hard enough to the waves, they'll carry the sound of Vivi's laughter to him still, soft and sweet and so happy, for all he knows she cries some nights, looking up at the same moon they watch. Those tears taste of the same salt as seawater, but she's laughing more, in her kingdom that is saved. 

Usopp's laugh is different, louder and sillier but no less true. But wherever Usopp is now, he can't hear it, no matter how hard he listens to the wind. 

Between the carved curling horns, Luffy wraps his arms around his legs, rests his forehead on his knees. In the shelter of his arms all he can see is the dim sunlight filtering through the hat's straw weave, playing on his faded jeans. All of him smells of saltwater, so strong it burns his nose, his eyes. With his arms muffling his ears he can't hear the sea, or the wind, or the hurting of the hull; nothing at all but the constant steady rush, in and out and in and out, of his own breathing. 


	10. OP: Wakeup Call :298:

_onepieceyaoi100 topic: exhaustion_

Wake-up Call 

He couldn't move, which wasn't something he ever enjoyed; not in action, he wasn't _him_. But everything was so heavy, heavier than being under a mountain, and he didn't know how to fight that weight, couldn't even open his eyes under it, couldn't even breathe. 

Like sleep but deeper, and he knew this feeling, this tiredness, he'd felt it before, but he was too exhausted to remember. He didn't care anyway. When you're tired, you rest, and things would be better when you woke up; they always were. Nothing else really mattered, as long as he could sleep. 

Except he couldn't. It wasn't the noise; even right in his ear he could ignore that. The shaking didn't matter, nor that pounding on his chest. 

But Zoro sounded scared, and nothing scares Zoro. There was a rasp to his shout, where usually there's anger, but this time his voice was hoarse, stretched so thin it sounded like it might snap, like one of Usopp's rubber bands. 

And he needed to know what enemy there possibly could be, who could scare Zoro. To see that marvel, as tired as he was, he forced his eyes open. Then he was coughing, was roughly yanked up and whacked on the back until he had choked up all the salt water filling his lungs, and Zoro--not scared at all--was grumbling, how could you just fall off like that, and look at this damn island, and the ship's not in sight, and what the hell do we do now-- 

It didn't seem like a bad island, really; there were palm trees, with coconuts. Though he had looked forward to beating up the monster that had scared Zoro so badly, and was disappointed, when he looked around, to see no sign of it.


	11. OP: Cataloging :143:

Cataloging

"Zoro's got that look." 

"Mm. Number 56." 

"'My captain is the dumbest captain on the whole Grand Line.'" 

"Not to be mistaken with Number 57, 'My captain is the dumbest captain on the entire planet.'" 

"Yes, the eyebrow is a little high for Number 57. Though with the quirking lip, he's dangerously close to Variation C of Number 56." 

"'My captain is the dumbest captain on the whole Grand Line, but I'll still follow him to the end of the world'?" 

"Exactly." 

"Has to be his silliest look." 

"Absolutely." 

"Cracks me up every time." 

"I should take a picture, I'd have blackmail material for the rest of his life." 

"Not that we'd ever look that dumb." 

"Nope." 

"And even if we _did_, it wouldn't be that..." 

"Hopeless. Of course not." 

"Never." 

"...It's always been one of my favorites." 

"You know what? Mine, too." 


End file.
